Velvet Song
by J. Daystar
Summary: In 1989, Curt Wild and Arthur Stuart are happily living together in New York. When Jack Fairy asks Curt to mentor a young singer, Curt is thrilled. But things aren't always what they seem... (rated R for language and sex)
1. Meeting Mia Jax

Velvet Song  
  
by J. Daystar  
  
--  
  
October, 1991  
  
--  
  
Curt Wild, in an amazing show of temper, picked up a wooden chair from his dining room and threw it violently across the room, where it hit the wall with a sick crunch, shattering on impact. Staring at the chunks of wood that littered his dining room floor, Curt dropped to his knees and started to cry.  
  
"Mia...oh God, Mia!" he whispered, curling into a fetal position. "Why?"  
  
--  
  
Two years earlier..  
  
--  
  
"Curt!" Arthur Stuart laughed as his best friend and lover continued to tickle him mercilessly. Curt laughed wickedly as he picked up Arthur and tossed him onto their bed.  
  
"Mwa ha ha..." he cackled evilly, nuzzling his neck. Arthur moaned softly, but before Curt could continue his fun, the phone rang loudly beside them.  
  
"Damnit!" Continuing to curse under his breath, Curt grabbed the phone. "This better be fucking important."  
  
"Well, hello to you too, Curt." Jack Fairy laughed eloquently into the phone. "I suppose I'm interrupting you."  
  
"Yeah. You've got five minutes before I hang up and go ravish my lover." Curt leered at Arthur, making the younger man blush.  
  
"Wonderful. This will only take a minute. I've got a young friend who's coming to America to work on her music. She needs a place to stay, with someone I can trust to keep an eye on her and give her a hand here and there. You're that man, Curt." Jack sounded absolutely confident that Curt could handle whatever this girl would throw at him. "Her name is Mia Jax."  
  
"So...you like, want me to mentor her or something?" Curt twisted the phone cord around his fingers as Arthur moved to lean against him, sighing. Curt pressed a quick kiss to his lover's forehead as Jack spoke.  
  
"Yes, and no. Mia's young and naive. I'm afraid I've sheltered her a bit, but I trust you to teach her what to avoid when it comes to the music scene." Jack's amusement was evident, as was his hope that Curt would accept. "If you don't want her to live with you, I'll find her an apartment close by..."  
  
"No, Jack, it's okay. I've still got the whole second floor that I haven't leased yet. She can live there." Curt rolled over so that he could play with Arthur's hair as he talked. "When's she getting here?"  
  
"Well...she should be there in two hours." Jack's voice was sheepish.  
  
Curt swore, startling Arthur out of a half-doze. "Fuck, Jack, you're shitting me!"  
  
"No...her flight from London took off almost twelve hours ago. She should be there any time now. I gave her your number just in case."  
  
Curt laughed, rolling away from Arthur, who had begun to nibble at his ear. "Alright...I'll go and pick her up. Next time, Jack, try and give me a little more warning, okay?"  
  
"Yes, Curt. Now, here's what you need to know about Mia..."  
  
--  
  
Curt and Arthur stood at the terminal, waiting for the passengers of the flight to disembark, Mia among them. Curt shifted from foot to foot, checking his watch every few moments.  
  
"Nervous, love?" Arthur asked, smiling at the hyperactive blonde beside him.  
  
"Yes." he snapped, but there was no anger in his eyes. "I mean, jeez...this is Jack's adopted daughter! If I fuck this up..."  
  
Arthur kissed him gently, much to the shock of the attendant at the door. "Relax, Curt. It will all work out."  
  
"Yeah." Curt hoped his lover was right. He had a feeling that if he screwed things up with Mia, Jack would never forgive him. Suddenly, the attendant opened the door and passengers began to step out. He watched for Mia, whom Jack had described as "a very Plain Jane" sort of girl. When the flow of passengers stopped, Curt began to get worried. He'd seen several girls, none of whom fit the description Jack had given him.  
  
"Mr. Wild?"  
  
Curt and Arthur turned to see a very non-plain young woman standing near them. Dressed in a long flowing dress of purple gauze, her dark black hair curled all the way down to her waist. A purple-dyed leather messenger bag was slung over her shoulder and she was smiling timidly at them from behind lightly applied lipstick and lavender-glitter mascara.  
  
Curt almost fell over. Of course...Jack Fairy was an extravagant person. Where as he might see Mia as someone to take a couple good looks at, Jack would pass her without a second thought.  
  
"You must be Mia." he said with a shaky smile. "This is Arthur...come on, lets get your stuff. Are you hungry?"  
  
"Sort of." Mia followed Curt's quick pace towards the baggage claim. "I had a light lunch on the plane."  
  
"Great. There's this little place right by our house...best pizza around." And Curt was off again, much to the amusement of both Arthur and Mia.  
  
"So, you're from London then?" Arthur asked as Curt walked ahead of them, unaware that the two were paying him no mind.  
  
"No...I was born in Dublin. Jack adopted me when I was four, and raised me wherever he happened to be at the moment." Mia stopped as they reached the baggage claim, immediately snatching a battered guitar case from the carousel. Seeing Arthur's questioning look, she smiled. "It's Jack's old case...he gave it to me as a going away present."  
  
She quickly grabbed two suitcases from the pile of luggage and pointed out one more to Curt, who had joined them again. "That one too...care to grab it?" Curt did so, and together, they hauled her luggage to Curt's car, which had barely enough room for all of them, much less the luggage. Somehow, they managed to fit everything in without too much pain, and set off for their house.  
  
--  
  
Another round of fighting with the luggage began as they hauled her trunk and two suitcases up the stairs to the studio apartment above Curt and Arthur's home, which had been empty since they moved in. Mia hadn't brought much, just clothes, her stereo, music collection, and some bedding, as well as a credit card that Jack had given Mia to buy furniture with. It was decided that Arthur would take the next day off from work and take Mia shopping, while Curt started looking for places for Mia to play.  
  
As they sat over dinner, which was a large pepperoni pizza (for Arthur and Mia) and pasta (for Curt), the two men fired questions at Mia left and right, which she happily answered.  
  
"Well, as I already told Arthur, I was born in Dublin...my mother and father divorced shortly after I was born, and since my mother was a friend of Jack's, when she had her mental breakdown, she asked Jack to adopt me. I'd never met my father, so until I was about twelve, I thought Jack was my real father."  
  
"How'd you find out?" Arthur asked, pulling the cheese off his pizza.  
  
"I met my father, of course." Mia's eyes grew hard with anger. "Stupid bastard."  
  
"What happened?" Curt set down his beer and leaned forward, interested.  
  
"Well, I was thirteen, and Jack was about to send me off to boarding school again when a lawyer showed up at the estate we lived on outside of London...my father wanted custody of me." Mia toyed with a chain that hung around her neck. "Since Jack knew my father and knew he'd be a terrible parent to me, he refused, and my father sued him for custody. Of course, my father was in the grip of a cocaine addiction, so he was forced to give up the case. But he never left me alone...he thought that having a daughter would solve all his problems."  
  
"What an ass." Curt mused, picking up his beer again. He looked at Arthur. "Sounds like something Brian would have done if he'd ever had kids."  
  
"Yeah." Arthur agreed, and let Curt claim his mouth in a kiss. Neither of them heard Mia's sigh as she turned her attention to her pizza.  
  
--  
  
Arthur and Mia spent their day together shopping at antique stores and flea markets for furniture. They picked up a wrought-iron bedframe, an antique chest, an antiqued copper coffee table with a glass top, and a luxurious red velvet couch. On their way home, in a pickup truck borrowed from Arthur's boss Lou, they stopped to get a bite to eat and a mattress for the bed. Curt was waiting for them when they finally got home, and helped them bring everything upstairs and arrange it. When that was finished, they celebrated by having a home-cooked meal (courtesy of Mia) on the floor of the apartment.  
  
As Curt helped clear the last of the dishes, Arthur browsed through Mia's record collection. So much of it was familiar...The Venus in Furs, Jack Fairy, Polly Small, Iggy Pop, David Bowie...even a few of Curt's albums, including the only one he'd recorded with The Rats. At the very bottom of the pile, Arthur found two records that made him stop and think for a moment: Brian Slade's Lipstick Traces and Ballad of Maxwell Demon. Both looked like they'd never been touched, and as Arthur opened the Maxwell Demon record, a slip of paper fell out. Knowing it was wrong, he unfolded the paper and read what was written...  
  
My Dearest Mia,  
  
Happy 14th birthday, sweetheart. I know you like music,  
  
so I'd thought you'd like to have these. Someday you'll be  
  
a big star, just like I was. Keep reaching until you make it,  
  
my Mia.  
  
Love always,  
  
Daddy  
  
Arthur's hands trembled as he slipped the letter back into the album cover. How could Jack have done this to them? Jack had to have known that Brian was Mia's father, so why had Jack sent Mia to them? Unless Mia didn't know about what had conspired between Curt and her father...which was probably true. From what he knew of Jack, he never would have told Mia about Curt and Brian's relationship. Or that Curt was the reason Mia's mother (obviously Mandy Slade) had divorced Brian.  
  
"I wish you hadn't found out this way."  
  
Arthur jumped and guiltily looked up at Mia, who looked very sad. She sat down beside him and shook her head when he opened his mouth to ask where Curt was.  
  
"In the kitchen." she said, taking the album from Arthur's hands and replacing it at the bottom of the pile. "Curt can't find out. He'd never let me stay, whether I hate my father or not."  
  
She looked so distraught that Arthur reached out to touch her shoulder. "I won't tell him. But...why did Jack send you here then?"  
  
"If Curt and I could get along and be friends...Jack hoped that I could help Curt find his music again, since it was my father's fault he lost it." Mia toyed with the hem of her skirt, sighing. "If he got his music back, then I could tell him who I really was."  
  
Arthur nodded. "So...your real name's not Mia Jax?"  
  
"No...it's Mia Venus Slade Fairy. Mia Jax is my stage name."  
  
"Venus?" Arthur hid a smile. Mia scowled.  
  
"Yes, I know. Venus. Blame my mother."  
  
"I think it's adorable." Arthur wasn't able to hide his smile this time and gave a snort of laughter. "Venus...sure there isn't an Aphrodite in there somewhere too?"  
  
"Piss off, or I'll show you why Jack nicknamed me 'Bitch Baby'." Mia's laughter was enough to draw Curt out of the kitchen, a wet plate in hand.  
  
"What's going on out here?" he asked. Arthur and Mia erupted into laughter again and Curt rolled his eyes, returning to the dishes.  
  
--  
  
End Part One 


	2. Songs of the Heart

"Lullaby" and "Love & Pride" (Mia's song for Curt) belongs to Alana Davis. Also, Mia is 18, for anyone who thought otherwise.  
  
--  
  
October 1989  
  
--  
  
Mia's first gig was a success. She covered a few of Curt's songs, with his permission, as well as a few of her own compositions. She got management offers left and right, but turned them all down, to both Curt and Arthur's surprise.  
  
When one portly man, who reminded Curt of Jerry Divine, was overly persistent, Mia mealy threw her arms around her friend's waists and smiled.  
  
"What better managers do I need?" she asked.  
  
And that, as they say, was that.  
  
--  
  
December, 1989  
  
--  
  
"Oh holy night..." Arthur warbled, off-key, to Curt and Mia as they wrestled to fit the Christmas tree into its stand.  
  
"Fucking piece of...Arthur, cut that out! You're giving me more of a headache." Curt snapped playfully, kicking the tree trunk for good measure.  
  
"Aww...let mummy help." Grinning, Arthur leaned over and captured Curt's mouth in a passionate kiss. Naturally, Curt turned to reciprocate, which led to Mia screaming as the tree fell on top of her.  
  
"Oh shit!" Curt quickly pulled the tree off Mia, who was glaring at them, none too pleased. "Sorry babe."  
  
"Next time, warn me if you're going to suck face while putting up a Christmas tree!" she yelled as they finally shoved the tree into it's stand. "Or I'll make sure the tree falls on you!"  
  
"Oh really?" Curt asked dangerously. Arthur backed away; knowing that tone of voice to mean that Curt Wild was at his most wickedly teasing point.  
  
"I'm serious!" Mia replied, not getting that Curt was teasing her. "I may be shorter and smaller, but I can still kick your ass, you big-mmph!"  
  
Arthur let out a whoop of laugher as Curt effectively silenced Mia with a deep, passionate, patented-Curt-Wild kiss. When Curt let her go Mia had gone white as a sheet.  
  
"Oh my." she said softly, then fled the room. Curt looked startled, then turned to Arthur.  
  
"What? What did I do?" he asked, but Arthur noted the way his lover's voice shook as he spoke. Something told him that the kiss between Curt and Mia had affected them both more than they cared to admit. And that scared Arthur more than anything.  
  
--  
  
Mia didn't come down from her room the rest of the night. When Curt and Arthur finally went to bed, it was midnight, and Arthur promptly fell asleep. Curt, however, couldn't get to sleep, so he got up and walked to the kitchen for a snack. The sound of an acoustic guitar met his ears as he walked into the living room with his box of cookies; it was coming from upstairs.  
  
Forgetting all about his cookies, Curt headed up the stairs to the landing outside of Mia's door. The guitar was louder now, and he could hear her singing softly. He sat down, ear pressed against the door to hear better.  
  
At night as we lay down to sleep I wonder what you'll show me  
  
I think of you and the thoughts that you keep  
  
And I wonder do you know me  
  
Everything that I have is broken in two, everything that I am revolves around you  
  
And you just don't understand what a girl goes through  
  
Everyone believes in something though they give it different name  
  
You can search the world for that one thing but it's all the same  
  
Lay your body down, come and let me bring your body down  
  
Listen to my voice, the only sound  
  
1 As I lullaby you, lullaby you down  
  
As the moon rides away from the sun she takes all his light and reflects it  
  
I relate them to us just for fun  
  
There's a parallel that's unexpected  
  
Every star in the sky reminds me of you  
  
Twinkling in my eyes the way that you do  
  
And I don't know why I get so blue  
  
Everyday is filled with changes no matter where you go  
  
Living in a world of strangers  
  
So we go for what we know  
  
Lay your body down...  
  
Everyone believes in something but it's all the same  
  
I got you to keep going me going  
  
So I guess I can't complain  
  
Lay you body down...  
  
Curt wasn't sure how long he sat there after she finished, but when he stood, his muscles were cramped and he cried out before he could stop himself. There was a low curse from inside the apartment and then Mia was standing in the doorway, looking down at Curt's crouched form.  
  
"Spying on me, Mr. Wild?" she asked coolly. Curt managed to look up at her, but wished he hadn't. Her eyes were like bitter ice, directed solely at him.  
  
"No... I heard you playing and stopped to listen." Curt forced himself to stand. "You're fantastic."  
  
Some of the coldness left Mia's gaze. "Thank you." she said softly, then turned to close the door. Curt stopped her, putting his bare foot between the door and frame.  
  
"Mia...wait...I want to apologize. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."  
  
Mia's face flushed, but she managed to look serious nonetheless. "You're right, you shouldn't have. You have a wonderful, loving boyfriend. Don't toy with me just because you want a bit of fun."  
  
Curt managed to remove his foot from the door before she slammed it in his face.  
  
--  
  
The next morning, Curt slept in, tired from the night before. When he finally rolled out of bed, showered, and dressed, Arthur was sitting at their kitchen table, sipping his tea and reading the paper. Before Curt could ask, Arthur looked up from his story and set both his cup and glasses down.  
  
"Mia's gone off for the day. She said she wanted time to think." It was clear that Arthur suspected something was going on by the way he looked at Curt, lovingly but sad.  
  
"I didn't do anything, Arthur!" Curt said harshly, pouring himself a large mug of coffee. He downed half of it in one gulp, gagging on the bitter taste. "All I did was listen to her play a song...she's the one who freaked."  
  
Arthur nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "Whenever you're ready to talk about what happened, I'll be here."  
  
Curt slammed down his mug, shattering the fragile porcelain. "I didn't do anything with her!" he yelled, grabbing his jacket off the wall and storming out of the house.  
  
--  
  
Curt wandered the city for hours, hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket. He hadn't done anything with Mia...all he'd done was kiss her, but Arthur had seen that happen. Why was it making them all so angry, though? Arthur knew that Curt loved him, he told him every day, and now his lover was letting this girl, not even old enough to drink, get between them. It just didn't make any sense.  
  
Curt looked around to judge where he was. He was standing outside a bar he and Arthur had frequented before they'd moved in together. It had always reminded Curt of the Sombrero Club in London; it seemed every new artist came through here before making it big. Glitter Touched's facade was crumbling, with graffiti everywhere. But if you looked closer, you could see that the graffiti spelled the names of bands that'd made it big after playing at Glitter Touched. Feeling slightly more relaxed, he decided to have a drink and maybe sort out some things in his head.  
  
He walked to the bar and ordered a beer, then sat down in a dark corner and watched the stage. A pretty thing of a boy in lipstick and glitter finished his rendition of "The Whole Shebang" and smiled at the spattered applause. Curt sighed as he nursed his drink, performer after performer sang a song or two then left. He was just contemplating ordering another beer when a soft, melodious voice filled the air, along with the slight strumming of an acoustic guitar.  
  
I'm having a notion  
  
It's a strange, the strangest emotion  
  
I'm all wrapped up with my head in the clouds  
  
The sweet child thinks he doesn't deserve me but I'm not that proud  
  
I'd walk for miles to see that handsome face  
  
To be with you baby I'd go anyplace  
  
So you say that you ain't go money, well I don't care  
  
'Cause I'm so in love with you honey  
  
What I got I'll share  
  
Take me by the hand, help me move my mountains aside  
  
Help me understand that love is stronger than..  
  
It'll serve you longer than pride  
  
Now father lend me your strength  
  
I know you think I'm weak but I'm not ashamed  
  
'Cause I'm in love and I'll tell you it's real  
  
I may be young but I know what I feel  
  
2 So you think he's gonna up and leave me...I disagree  
  
He said that he'd give up the world just to please me and care for me, he'll  
  
Take me by the hand, help me move my mountains aside  
  
Help me understand that love is stronger than...  
  
It'll serve you longer than pride  
  
When I first looked in his eyes I felt this chemistry  
  
And much to my surprise here's a man full of beauty and free of greed  
  
And I'll stand by him 'cause he's all that I need  
  
The sweet child thinks he doesn't deserve me but I'm not that proud  
  
said it once but I don't think he heard me so I'll say it out loud...  
  
Curt looked up when the song ended and met Mia's glittery gaze, before she shouldered her guitar and walked offstage amid a standing ovation. Forgetting all about his drink, Curt stood and followed Mia backstage, but was stopped by a burly man with dark sunglasses.  
  
"Hold it right there, pal. No one goes backstage except the performers and agents. You're not an agent, and Pretty Eyes over there was our last on the list...so piss off." he frowned menacingly at Curt, who stared back at him without moving.  
  
The security guard took a step forward. "You want me to help you outside?"  
  
"Jeff, it's okay. I know him." Mia, minus her glitter, pulled her jacket on over her lime crushed velvet overalls and slung her guitar case over her shoulder. "Curt's my manager."  
  
"Yeah." Curt looked at Mia strangely, but she shook her head, giving the security guard a sideways glance. "Yeah, her manager."  
  
Jeff didn't look convinced, but he let Curt pass and walk out the backstage door with Mia. As soon as they were outside, Curt rounded on her.  
  
"What the hell was that about? You could have told us you had a gig!"  
  
Mia shrugged tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I wanted to see if I could do this on my own." Left unsaid was 'to see if I needed you', but it was as plain as day.  
  
Curt felt as though she'd slapped him. They'd been getting along so wonderfully since she'd arrived in August, and he'd thought that after the incident with the Jerry Divine look alike, they were going to work things out just fine. But if she felt she didn't need- or want- Curt around anymore, then so be it.  
  
"Fine. Just...fine." he said, and walked away, leaving a tearful Mia behind.  
  
--  
  
Curt didn't return home until the early morning. Arthur was still waiting up for him, working on a story he was supposed to turn in for the weekend edition of the Herald. He looked up from his computer screen when Curt entered the room and frowned as Curt kissed him.  
  
"You've been drinking."  
  
"Yeah, but I'm not drunk." Curt kissed Arthur's hair in silent apology and sat down on the couch. "Did Mia ever come home?"  
  
"Yes, about three hours ago." Arthur moved from his computer to sit next to his lover. "What happened? She came back in tears."  
  
"Mia went out to perform this morning...I got mad, told her that she should have told us...she said she didn't need us anymore and I left." Curt sighed and tried to light a cigarette, but his hands were shaking too badly. Arthur pried the lighter and cigarette from his hands and pulled Curt into a gentle embrace.  
  
"I screwed up so badly...Jack trusted me and now I've gone and messed up his little girl." Curt hadn't cried in years, not since he and Brian had broken up, but he felt close to it now and furiously wiped away a stray tear that dripped down his face. "Fuck, Arthur, I'm a shithead. A real fucking shithead."  
  
"No, you're a confused man who's never had to play mentor to anyone before." Arthur soothed, stroking Curt's hair gently. "I doubt that Mia hates you...or that Jack will hate you. You've just got to talk to Mia, explain things to her."  
  
Arthur looked up when he heard a sound from the doorway. Red-eyed and sniffling, Mia stood there, wrapped in a silk robe, miserable. She mouthed "Does he hate me?" to Arthur, who shook his head gently. She nodded, heading back up to her apartment as Arthur continued to comfort his now sobbing lover.  
  
--  
  
Curt finally fell asleep about four in the morning, and before Arthur left for work, he knocked gently on Mia's door, hoping she'd come out of her funk long enough to talk to him.  
  
Looking decidedly worse for the wear, Mia opened the door and tried to smile bravely at Arthur, but ended up looking miserable. "'llo." she grunted, obviously not quite awake.  
  
"Good morning, angel." Arthur smiled as Mia visibly blushed at the nickname. "Curt's asleep downstairs...I want you two to work things out today. I have just two rules: don't burn or break anything, and call me when you're better, because I'm not coming home until then."  
  
She nodded, and then Arthur kissed her gently on both cheeks. "I have faith in you, Mia. When you arrived, Curt was so excited...it was like nothing with Brian or his family had ever happened. He needs to get his center back...he needs to know that you care about him."  
  
"I do...it's just..." when Mia didn't continue, Arthur nodded, understanding.  
  
"Tell him about your father. It might help to clear up things."  
  
She nodded again, and Arthur quietly left. It was his day off, but he had a mission: It was talk to Jack Fairy.  
  
--  
  
The smell of breakfast woke Curt from his heavy sleep. He opened his eyes and blinked to clear them, then noticed the tray sitting on a chair beside the bed. It held a cup of coffee, made just the way Curt liked it, a platter of fruits, and cinnamon toast. There was a folded note as well, which Curt picked up and read.  
  
"Good morning, sleepy-head. Enjoy your breakfast, then get ready and meet me upstairs. -M"  
  
Curt was stunned, but ate as he was directed. After a shower and a change of clothes, he walked upstairs to Mia's apartment. Finding the door open and unlocked, he stepped cautiously inside and looked around.  
  
"Mia?"  
  
The door closed behind him and he spun in time to see Mia deadbolt and chain the door. She smiled warmly at him, but there was a purpose in her steely eyes. "Hello Curt. I hope you're comfortable. We've got a lot to discuss."  
  
--  
  
End Part Two 


End file.
